Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1997 Jun 6;51(2):123-30.
doi: 10.1080/00984109708984016.

Mercury content in skin-lightening creams and potential hazards to the health of Saudi Women

I al-Saleh  1 , I al-Doush
Affiliations

Mercury content in skin-lightening creams and potential hazards to the health of Saudi Women

I al-Saleh et al. J Toxicol Environ Health. .

Abstract

It seems evident from a wealth of scientific research that mercury is toxic. Because of the nature of the Saudi markets, different brands of skin-lightening creams are widely available. In this study, 38 skin-lightening cream samples were collected and analyzed for mercury by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry after an acid digestion procedure. About 45% of the tested skin-lightening cream samples contained mercury at levels well above the FDA's acceptable limit of 1 ppm. These findings are alarming and have wide legal and educational implications for Saudi Arabia in particular and developing countries in general. Further investigation for possible adverse health effects is also needed.

PubMed Disclaimer